The title "Sea of Plastic" refers to the vast white tarps that make up the myriad of greenhouses in the fictional city of Campoamargo, which translates to "bitter land". The area used to be little more than desert until these structures made it one of the most profitable farming communities in Europe. But that type of development is never without cost. All this plastic produce requires labor which means an influx of immigrants and rising racial animosity from the locals. All these male workers leads to the development of shady secondary industries like strip-clubs and prostitution. Then there are the few savvy businessmen that take advantage of every aspect of this new economy, becoming the new oligarchs, and certify it by acquiring their own blonde Russian trophy wives. It's this stew of resentment that is set to boil when a ghastly murder occurs. Ainhoa, the mayor's daughter, wasn't just beheaded but completely exsanguinated so that her blood could be released from the sprinkler system in one of the ubiquitous vegetable tents. Such a gruesome opening scene makes the viewer think that this is the beginning of a grisly series of serial killings, or that this will be a thoroughly morbid crime-noir. Yet the show doesn't deliver on the dark tone that it opens with and instead unfolds as a colorful, brightly lit, casual who-done-it. At times resembling a high-rent telenovela. But to be fair this series is less about the murder and about the community that it took place in.
Heading the investigation is Héctor Tarancón a veteran detective who is just barely containing his PTSD after recently returning from combat in: Afghanistan? Yes dear reader, I did look it up. Spain actually contributed as many as fourteen hundred troops to the ISAF, and even suffered 102 casualties. However most of those were do to aircraft incidents, including the 62 who died in a plane crash on their way home. Unsurprisingly that is not what haunts Héctor. His nightmares are occupied by a confusing combat incident in which his best friend Pablo died, but of course not before he could implore his buddy to take care of his widow and child. Now he has returned home to wrestle with that military cliché while solving a high-profile murder. Considering the fact that the victim's father is the Chief of Police you'd think that this investigation would merit untold amounts of manpower and pressure, but Héctor is allowed to conduct his case in a routine manner with only a few detectives. One of them is Lola Requena, shunned in her own community because becoming a member of the Civilian Guard is unforgivable to her clan of gypsies. Yet another sub-set of this uneasy mixture of people that grows more agitated whenever the evidence points one way.
Usually in a series like this there is no shortage of suspects because so many people had reason to want the victim dead. Yet it seems that Ainhoa was liked by everyone and any suggestion that one segment may have been involved in her death leads to a rash physical conflict among groups. Between these tribal confrontations and a murderer knocking out anyone who gets close to the truth, there is no point in the series in which one character isn't nursing a wound. But it is in these fractures of the community where the story really emerges as the different groups learn to appreciate each others common humanity. Ironically enough the character that achieves the most growth is the one with a swastika tattooed on his chest. Initially he was enraged that his ex-girlfriend Ainhoa was dating a black migrant from Guinea. But the circumstances of the drama constantly force these two to deal with each other, and what he thought was her betrayal can actually be an endorsement of his character. Watching these flawed but earnest young adults evolve into their societal roles with a compassion lacking in the previous generation is a rewarding series of its own. So much so that you sometimes forget that the show is about catching a murderer. It's in combining the two stories that the series falls short. The moving human drama doesn't quite fit in between the criminal procedure and suspect of the moment formula. In combining the two it dampens both stories and drags on too long. Every episode lasts a confounding 70 minutes which leaves you anticipating the end even more than the plot twist. That being said there is more good than bad in the show and it did hold my attention enough to watch the entire season, I just don't think I'll be watching the second one.
(On the off chance that anyone from Netflix reads this, the English language subtitles could use a second pass. There are multiple incorrect translations and misapplied pronouns.)
